Sûl ned Sîdh
by Erosaf
Summary: The Last Alliance ended with the fall of Elrond's lover, Gil-Galad. Bereft of their King, the Noldor turn to Elrond for guidance and to seek the leader they know he could be. At his side is Lady Celebrain, a trusted friend, or is she more to him than he realises? Will there be more than friendship for him when it comes to her? Is Sauron really gone, after the defeat at Dagorlad?


Chapter 1 – Leaving Mordor

Death. The plains around him reeked of the stench of death. So many he had known all his life were dead. Gone, passing into Mandos' Halls. The worst of which was the one that left a gaping hole where Elrond's heart had been.

Elrond remembered Sauron emerging through the battlefield to confront the elves, humans and dwarves. He remembered seeing Ereinion and Elendil moving together to confront the master of the One Ring. He had seen Elendil sent flying by a blow from Sauron's mace, and had known that it had been a deadly one.

Though he had heard Isildur's cry of shock, Elrond's eyes had been fixed on Ereinion.

His lover had traded blows for several minutes against Sauron, and just when Elrond had thought that Sauron might have met his match, he had been horrified to see the flames suddenly surging up and consuming Ereinion.

Elrond sat there in his tent, knowing that they should be leaving the wretched plains now that there was no more war to be had. Soon, he knew, someone would come to find him. Glorfindel, or Círdan perhaps. He knew they had both survived the war.

Isildur and his people had already left. _Not that he cares that claiming the one ring made everyone we lost seem like they were worth nothing. We came here to destroy the ring and Sauron along with it, and that foolish human claimed it!_ So had Durin's folk, leaving only elves on the great blood coated plain. Elrond on the other hand did not want to move. Call it foolish, or whatever else the others wanted, but a part of him felt like it had died with Ereinion.

Elrond sighed as he heard someone stop outside the entrance to his tent. _I guess now is the time to move?_ he thought, without caring. When they left here, he knew he would only hurt more. It felt wrong, being alive without the one he loved. He had never thought that losing Ereinion would hurt him this much.

The footsteps did not move again, and he could faintly see the shadow that came from the foots of the elf who stood, unseen outside his tent. Elrond waited, annoyed. _Can they not just say what they need to so I can answer them?_ he thought irritably. People seemed to not realise what had been lost to him in the battle, though perhaps, Glorfindel knew.

"Lord Elrond?"

Elrond flinched in surprise. That wasn't Glorfindel or Círdan that had spoken. No. He knew the voice.

"What is it?" he called, not caring who it was. He knew of course, that it was Thranduil who had spoken. He likely also knew, what the Sindarin elf wanted.

Thranduil entered the tent, and Elrond glared at him.

"I don't recall giving you permission to enter my tent, Prince Thranduil!"

His friend took an automatic step back at his glare. Elrond knew, he was not himself, and that Thranduil too was grieving. He did not lose his lover. No, Thranduil had lost his father due to folly on Oropher's own behalf.

"What is wrong with you, mellon-nin?" Thranduil asked, coming over to sit next to him.

Elrond automatically flinched and put some distance between himself and the golden haired elf. He did not need nor want another ellon that close to him right now.

"You know who was lost, yes?" he asked, in a defeated voice.

"Yes, the High-King, and the King of Arnor," Thranduil replied. "Why?"

Elrond looked over at his friend, who thankfully, had not moved closer when he moved away from him. Had Thranduil done so, Elrond did not think he would have reacted in a way that was good.

"You do not know, do you, who the HIgh-King was to me, do you?"

"No, but from the way you're acting, I can guess he was someone very close to you," Thranduil replied. "That and I've seen the two of you moving about in the camp from time to time."

"You're right about that. He is..." Elrond grimaced, before correcting himself, "was, very important to me. We were mates." His voice stayed blunt, almost cold even to his own ears.

Thranduil's blue eyes widened as he heard that.

The sympathy showing in those azure eyes made Elrond turn away. He did not want Thranduil to see the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes right now. While his friend seemed to want to help him, Elrond did not want to embarrass himself by allowing the Sindarin Prince, friend though he may be, to see him crying.

"Leave me, please, Thranduil."

Thranduil sighed. "My people wish to leave here, or at least, what's left of them."

Elrond nodded slightly. "Take care of yourself, old friend."

"I will send word when things are sorted out in the Greenwood, Elrond. It may be some time before then. Keep yourself safe."

Elrond nodded once more, and Thranduil was gone.

Elrond was glad for the quiet. He had told Círdan to let him know when things were ready for them to leave, and it had been a while since. His grey eyes looked over at the white spear resting against the tent wall. Aeglos. He would not leave the spear here to rot. Ereinion would not have wanted such a fate for his spear, Elrond was certain of that.

He was not sure how much time had passed before he heard familiar footsteps outside the entrance to his tent once more.

"We're ready to leave, Elrond," he heard Círdan call.

"I'll be out in a moment."

What point was there in continuing on like this? Elrond knew he had his own responsibilities now, and he had to face the others, and deal with those responsibilities. Elrond rose, wincing as blood shifted through his stiff muscles. _How long was I sitting there?_ There was no way for him to be able to tell.

Moving over to where Aeglos was, he picked up the spear, and headed out of the tent.

"There's something I want to do before I leave," he told Círdan. "I will be back in a little while."

His friend nodded, and Elrond turned away from where everyone else was. He did not have to walk too far to where he knew Ereinion had last stood to fight Sauron. All that remained of where Ereinion had fallen was a burnt outline of where Ereinion's body had fallen.

While they had been able to move him somewhere else to bury him, it had not been something Elrond had been able to watch.

_First Elros, now you. Who else must I outlive?_ Elrond sighed, looking down at the scorched ground for a few more long moments. _I hope one day we might meet again in Valinor, melleth-nin. I will never forget you._

He knew that he might never get to go to Valinor, but he could always hope that Ereinion would get to be reborn into Valinor to wait for him.

Elrond turned, and headed back to the others where they waited with the horses. While he was gone, he noted that his tent had been dismantled, and that his belongings were packed away. _Good, at least I will not have to deal with all of that._

"Time to leave this foul place."

Not one horse moved before his own started off. Elrond kept the old white spear with him. He would take it at least to Imladris to be kept. It seemed right to him. None challenged him over the spear either, they all seemed to respect him enough not to.


End file.
